Sozadee Archives

Sozadeeis a state of mind. It was discovered (or founded) many years ago on a hot August afternoon's sail out of Newport Beach. There was no wind (at least any stronger than the current) and a burning, glaring sun. The limp sails afforded no shade. All aboard knew the outboard was questionable. The ice on the beer was melting and discussion was skirting the issue of sunstroke. Suddenly, the word "Sozadee" was uttered, the breeze returned, and all was well.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Retreat in Afghanistan?

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, July 13 -- Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in heavy fighting Sunday at a military base in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, according to a Western official. The attack was the deadliest against U.S. forces in the country since 2005.KABUL, Afghanistan:The Taliban insurgents who attacked a remote American-run outpost near the Pakistan border on Sunday numbered nearly 200 fighters, almost three times the size of the allied force, and some breached the NATO compound in a coordinated assault that took the defenders by surprise, Western officials said Monday.

The attackers were driven back in a pitched four-hour battle, and they appeared to suffer scores of dead and wounded of their own, but the toll they inflicted was sobering. The base and a nearby observation post were held by just 45 American troops and 25 Afghan soldiers, two senior allied officials said, asking for anonymity while an investigation was under way.

With nine Americans dead and at least 15 injured, that means that one in five of the American defenders was killed and nearly half the remainder were wounded. Four Afghan soldiers were also wounded.

KABUL, July 16 -- After suffering significant setbacks in the fight against insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan troops have pulled out of a combat outpost where nine U.S. soldiers were killed in a pitched battle with Taliban fighters Sunday.

We are on the retreat against terrorism. Oh, to be sure it's only a 'tactical' retreat. Surfing through Google News this morning, I could see several shades of lipstick put on this defeatreversal. The outpost was

only temporary?

abandoned?

overrun?

vacated?

left?

surrendered?

removed?

dismantled?

disassembled?

disestablished?

The last euphemism is my favorite: 'disestablished'! (I didn't know that was a word.)

How did we get to this point?

It's awesome to note how far our erstwhile war-time president has led us from those first days of his declaring war in September 2001.

I'm talking about when Bush said on 13-Sep-01,

The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.

And when he said on 17-Sep-01 (UPI),

I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'

Or, at the White House on 14-Dec-01,

I don't care. Dead or alive, either way. I mean, I - it doesn't matter to me. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.

Or two weeks later, when Bush discussed Osama bin Laden in a Press Availablity with the Press Travel Pool, in Crawford Texas, 28-Dec-01, as reported on the official White House site,

"...Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, three months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run. Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we're going to get him running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all. So we don't know whether he's in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open -- we just don't know...."

And then again at the White House, on 8-Jul-02,

I don't know if he is dead or alive, for starters - so I'm going to answer your question with a hypothetical. Osama bin Laden, he may be alive. If he is, we'll get him. If he's not alive, we got him.

In Manilla, Philippines, on 18-Oct-03,

We're on the offensive against the terrorists...

In Nashua, New Hampshire, 25-Mar-04,

The best way to protect us is to stay on the offensive and to find terrorists before they try to harm us again.

And a Prime Time Press Conference (#3), White House, 13-Apr-04:

I can assure the American people that had we had any inkling that this was going to happen, we would have done everything in our power to stop the attack. Here's what I feel about that. The person responsible for the attacks was Osama bin Laden. That's who's responsible for killing Americans. And that's why we will stay on the offense until we bring people to justice.

Offense?Justice?Dead or alive?

After almost seven years since Osama bin Laden declared war on us with the attacks of 9/11, we are on the defensive. We have had no justice. (Only torture) We have no clue whether Osama bin Laden is alive or dead or where the hell he is. Afghanistan? Pakistan? Talibanistan?

Where does this jerk-off president and his militaristic entourage get off on their pretense of being tough on terrorism?

It was on their watch when we suffered the most devastating attack since 7-December 1941. And it is on Busheney's watch that Adolph HitlerOsama bin Laden, Emperor HirihitoMullah Omar, and Benito MussoliniAyman al-Zawahri continue to bleed us dry of blood and treasure.